Daily costs for hiring a tanker in the Gulf have nearly doubled in just seven days, climbing from $106,000 to over $190,000. For some very large crude carriers hauling cargo through the chokepoint, daily earnings have hit $470,000—a figure that would have been considered impossible before the war. This surge persists even as Brent futures trade at $77, reflecting a market that has largely priced in the return of supply.

The scarcity of available vessels remains the primary driver of these costs. Although the 60-day ceasefire between Iran and the United States has technically lifted the blockade, traffic through the Strait is still a fraction of the 125 ships per day recorded before late February. Roughly 100 tankers remain trapped within the Gulf, loaded with delayed cargo. With ADNOC aggressively marketing supplies and Indian refiners scrambling to secure barrels after months of disruption, the demand for ships far outstrips the current supply. Until vessel traffic returns to pre-war volume, shipping companies will continue to capture the economic gains of a crisis that has otherwise proven costly for the global energy market.